Heavy rains cause problems in construction zones

The rain this week has already created some problems on area roadways, slowing traffic and stalling construction projects.

By mid-day, traffic was moving, but not much else in the Interstate 94 westbound construction zone was. Rain had brought the work to a halt and put the projects completion deadline in jeopardy.

"We were hopeful that we would be able to get the third lane open by the end of this week. Certainly Mother Nature is going to make that a little challenging for us, but we're still making that effort," Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Pyritz said.

Pyritz said road projects around the area are being impacted by this week's spring storms.

"Each one, based on what they were doing at the time, parts of the project are still moving full-speed forward, other parts are being put on hold until we get the appropriate weather in place," Pyritz said.

Standing water is also posing a pressing problem for drivers in freeway construction zones. It shut down part of the interstate in Kenosha County for a while on Monday and continues to be a concern anywhere roadwork is being done.

"Anytime you have an active construction zone, you're going to have situations where the water flow is not normal. There's not curb and gutter and the drainage that you would normally have in a standard roadway," Pyritz said. "Pooling water can happen. If there are orange barrels in the area, pay even more attention."

The rain is causing problems on city streets as well. Standing water flooded many intersections. The problem, in most cases, is sewer grates clogged with leaves and branches, or in some cases, garbage and debris.

Something else that's contributing to the standing water around construction sites is the mesh filters required on sewer grates. They keep construction debris out of the sewers but can also block some of the water flow.

Homeowners also have concerns.

Streets, sidewalks and lawns were already overflowing in parts of Whitefish Bay on Tuesday afternoon.

Homeowners fear flooding

"We know there's going to be a lake, and there's times when we see ducks swimming in it," homeowner Gary Lang said.

Homes in Lang's neighborhood suffered severe flooding a few years ago, and he said people there can't help but worry that it could happen again.

"A former neighbor lost her furnace and water heater with the first bout of that, and the second time around, she also lost both those items again, so it was significant to many homeowners," Lang said.

"They're just wanting to make sure their pumps are working," plumber Sebastian Bellante said.

Bellante handled a couple of service calls, even before the heaviest rainfall, from homeowners wanting to make sure their sump pumps were ready for action.

"When you get weather like this, and the pump's not kicking on, you're going to get flooding," Bellante said.

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